STRENGTH OF VET AND WIFE SEEN AROUND THE WORLD

Double amputee, bride hope to inspire people to overcome all challenges

The photo captivated people around the world. A handsome young man missing both legs is carried piggyback by his gorgeous bride.

The romance between Staff Sgt. Jesse Cottle, now 28, and Kelly Forrester, 24, bloomed after the Marine veteran was wounded in 2009 in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb.

As they posed together standing in an Idaho river, the smiling San Diego newlyweds evoke the tragedy of war, as well as the power of faith, perseverance and love.

Their photo went viral after it was posted on Facebook. News of it spread to Australia, the United Kingdom and Korea. The Cottles were surprised by the interest, but saw an opportunity. They appeared on “Good Morning America,” “Fox and Friends,” and virtually any media outlet that asked, hoping to inspire people to overcome challenges of all kinds.

“It was really weird, especially at first,” Kelly said. “It was such a genuine moment for us. And the fact that it’s not a big deal for us is such a blessing, because we do have that and we do have each other. We hope that for everyone.”

Jesse’s mother, Peggy Cottle, of Scottsdale, Ariz., said, “It is just so cool how Kelly steps in, in such a godly woman sort of fashion, in that she is her husband’s helper and that he allows her to help him, which really shows such good balance between them.”

It hadn’t always seemed so natural among the Cottles for a woman to carry her husband.

The first time his mother saw Kelly tote Jesse into the surf on a beach outing, “It really tore me up. I was so sad about it. It was, ‘Oh, this is the reality of it.’ At first it would bite really hard. But it bites a lot less now.”

Blast

Cottle deployed three times from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to Iraq as a radio operator. Then he transferred into the explosive ordnance disposal field for a more direct role in the war.

“It’s more dangerous. But IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are the hugest killer out there,” he said.

On July 19, 2009, Jesse’s longtime friend and fellow team member, Staff Sgt. Patrick Hilty, was preparing to disable a possible IED in the bomb-cratered corridors of Now Zad, Afghanistan.

Jesse walked by, heading down the alley toward another possible bomb.

Instead he triggered one underfoot, a low metal version that the minesweeper couldn’t detect.

The sound of his footsteps, the jangle of his equipment, the crackle of the radio, it all went mute. Jesse was blasted into the air, so high he remembers looking down over the high mud walls.

He landed in a crater with his mouth stuffed with dirt, rocks, splinters and blood. Cottle struggled to see through the dust cloud whether he had legs. “If I’m lucky, I’m only missing one,” he thought.

Both legs were gone. Time slowed. He felt he was in a dream, but Cottle struggled for his tourniquet. The other troops quickly took over.